I'm a newbie to healthy eating. I used to eat junk food mostly and canned, processed food till it took its ...

Question

toll on my physical and mental health. What healthy foods do you make sure you include in your diet?

Answer 1

Fresh fruit, vegetables and lean meats and fish. It's all about moderation...screw the tofu!

Answer 2

When you go to the grocery store, shop from the perimeter...this is where all the healthy, fresh foods are located. After stocking up on produce, organic dairy products, etc, get yourself a loaf of whole grain bread, some whole grain pastas, organic pasta sauce (Newman's Own is good and very affordable), some breakfast cereal, and a jar of all natural peanut butter (Smuckers is a good brand). Avoid soft drinks and chips but you can get flavored water, whole grain crackers like Kashi brand, and some quality dark chocolate. If you have an open mind, try switching to soymilk (Silk vanilla is the best in my opinion...Wal Mart's GV Brand is the same thing as Silk if you're cheap). It's cholesterol free and has 3 times the Omega 3s as dairy milk.

It doesn't cost a lot to eat healthy either. You can shop just as healthy at Wal Mart as you can at Whole Foods or Trader Joes...it's just a matter of buying the right things and resisting all those aisles of junk food.

Answer 3

Try the book Fit for Life by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond.

It talks about eating a healthy lifestyle in combinations and gives examples and recipes.

My special note: if you are a meat eater, try to eat only Angus beef, and koshered meats because the animals are fed a vegetarian diet.

Answer 4

Sorry to hear that you are/were in poor health. That stinks. But major kudos for stepping up and making a change! :-D
Processed food *will* kill you if you let it...!

I eat as much raw food as possible. I eat a large salad everyday and the snacks around my house are fresh pineapple wedges, apples, bananas, and baby carrots.
When I do eat processed foods, I read the label carefully to make sure it does not contain too much fat, too many calories or too many ingredients that I cannot pronounce. If I have no idea what it is, I'm NOT eating it!
You can just make simple changes to turn things around...if you are not quite ready to stock your fridge full of fresh foods, replace the canned stuff with frozen. (You can make quick and delicious stir-frys out of forzen veggies!) Replace your white rice with brown rice...replace your regular pasta with whole-wheat...same with your bread and tortillas.
Make sure you drink a lot of water. That is key to good health. I won't say that you need a gallon per day or whathaveyou...everyone is different....just drink that in place of what you used to drink (soda, juice with high fructose corn syrup, etc.).
Remember to take baby steps. The ingredients in some processed foods are borderline addictive! It might take a little time to re-program your bod. If you still want to eat chips, for example, eat tortilla chips and salsa instead of potato chips. You still get the crunch and it's better for you. It's summer and you want a cold, sweet treat! Don't deprive yourself....choose a frozen juice or fruit bar instead of the ice cream. Granted, they have a bit of sugar, but not nearly as much fat.
It will get easier as time goes by. Those are just some things that worked for me.
Good luck to you! ;-D

Answer 5

toss out all meat products.. eat fruits veggies, grains seeds and cereals! I said in order of importance! Also drink herbal teas and juices instead of soda pop! If your a heavy coffee drinker cut down that! Most herbalists say not to drink more than 5 cups coffee a week but I'm a herbalist and I drink 1-3 cups a day!

Answer 6

Fresh fruits
Raw vegetables
yogurt (plain - nonfat - organic - particularly Fage brand strained Greek yogurt)
Fish (salmon - tuna)
Green tea
nonfat milk
oatmeal
wheat grass juice
whole flax seeds

Answer 7

anything you eat should be grilled or baked or steamed
forget about frying

fish at least twice a week
red meat once a week
white meat once a week

fuits and vegs every day
lots of water

Answer 8

If you want to be mentally and physically healthy mean, you should become completely vegetarian.

Answer 9

I ALWAYS make sure I eat some broccoli. Especially organic. It is IMO one of the healthiest things you can eat.

Answer 10

Ice cream